EMURGO, the commercial branch of Cardano blockchain, has launched an ecosystem investment fund worth $100 million to support early-stage and growth-stage startups and companies in Africa.
EMURGO is one of the founding members of Cardano and its new investment vehicle will be composed of two separate entities, EMURGO Africa, and EMURGO Ventures. The entities will have different investment thesis and will work on a similar goal of developing socially impactful solutions on the Cardano blockchain.
In particular, EMURGO Africa will expand the Cardano ecosystem in Africa by seed funding and incubation for about 300 startups planning to use Cardano technology in the African region.
On the other hand, EMURGO Ventures will support the development of Cardano-based solutions and services in developed markets. It will focus on investing in startups and middleware solution companies operating in the DeFi and NFT fields.
Discussing the fund’s role in offering capital and strategic resources to start-ups, EMURGO CEO Ken Kodama noted:
“We are more focused than ever on accelerating the development of Cardano’s ecosystem with a rich mix of decentralized services catering to a global community that is increasing in overall blockchain awareness.”
Adding to it, Charles Hoskinson, CEO of IOHK, said:
“EMURGO’s investments will help to shape the future of the Cardano ecosystem, a maturing network with a creative and diverse community, growing smart contract capabilities and partnerships across the globe that provide social and financial services utilizing Cardano’s provably-secure technology.”
